Roget’s defines diversity as “the quality of being made of many different elements forms, kinds or individuals.” The word map from www.visualthesaurus.com illustrates the nouns and verbs on the way to a state of diversity. Embracing heterogeneity in mission and philosophy is a good start along the path. But organizations seeking diversity must sometimes change to diversify. Only through the actions of change agents can diversity be accomplished.

 

Beyond sharing seven letters, where do a university and diversity interface?

University policies codify the importance of cultural diversity as a means to enrich the educational experience, and to ensure that graduates achieve the understanding and respect necessary for cultural differences for an enlightened citizenry. More than simple course content, this enabling process occurs through faculty insights and experiences that may be applied to the contemporary cultures in which students live. It is a life lesson learned.

 

Does diversity apply differently at a health sciences university like MCG? No and yes. It applies in the very same ways it applies at other undergraduate and graduate universities. At MCG School of Medicine we strive to achieve diversity in our student body in order to assure that the physicians we graduate into the workforce reflect the growing diversity of the U.S. population. We also strive to recruit a diverse faculty and to advance their careers into leadership positions. But we are different because as part of a health sciences university, we must also prepare graduates to provide patient-focused health care for an increasingly diverse patient population.

 

My past week highlighted the importance of thinking about and acting on diversity at Georgia’s health sciences university.

On Monday, I represented MCG at a Morehouse School of Medicine roundtable discussing the need to expand the size and diversity of the physician workforce, focusing on the role of historically black colleges and universities. I sat beside Dr. David Satcher, the 16th U.S. Surgeon General, who now holds the Pouissant-Satcher-Cosby chair at Morehouse. One roundtable participant expressed concern about Association of American Medical Colleges 2006 data showing that the percentage of African-American U.S. medical students had declined, while that of Asian-American medical students had grown sharply in recent years. He asked how this could occur.

 

Driving home from Atlanta, I heard the answer on National Public Radio which reported that the U.S. population would reach 300 million at 7:46 a.m. the next day, with the growth reflecting the ever-increasing cultural diversity of America.

 

Once back in my office, I read an e-mail about the Spanish for Healthcare Providers language classes being offered to MCG medical and nursing students, many of whom work Wednesdays at the Clinica Latina on Greene Street in downtown Augusta. My own experiences growing up in Montreal as an English-speaking Quebecker (i.e. “Anglo”) in an 85% French-speaking province taught me a second language and the importance of speaking that language as a measure of respect to patients and as a key to quality medical care.

 

By midweek, and upon the recommendation of the MCG graduating class of 2007, the School of Medicine secured the commitment of Dr. Ben Carson to be our invited speaker at the May Hooding Ceremony. In addition to being a leading pediatric neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins whose Georgia family roots were recently highlighted in the PBS production African American Lives, Dr. Carson is recognized as a humanitarian and philanthropist. His words will inspire our students, residents and faculty and his life journey will inform our diversity process.

 

On Thursday, our school reached an agreement in principle with the Stoney Medicine, Dental and Pharmaceutical Society to expand the society’s stipend program to include all under-represented minority students enrolling in the MCG medical school class.

 

On Friday, our school’s assistant dean for educational outreach and partnerships, Wilma Sykes-Brown, finalized plans for the MCG consultative visit of Dr. George Rausch, the associate dean of multicultural affairs at Saint Louis University. George is a mutual friend and colleague, and Ms. Sykes-Brown and I look forward to seeing him on our campus in mid-November and to sharing best practices. That same evening, many of us attended the 25th anniversary celebration for the MCG Research Institute, at which awards were presented to five current or former MCG faculty members for accomplishments in their fields of science. Eighty percent of these distinguished awardees were born and/or educated abroad.

 

Many parents who drive will recognize the plaintive backseat child’s question, “Are we there yet?” Has MCG reached “destination diversity”?

 

Our school has achieved a measure of gender diversity in 2007 by having the first 50% female class enter the medical school, with women comprising 30% of the faculty. However, our under-represented minority students total less than 10% of the class, with 32% of faculty from the non-majority. In leadership positions, 18% of executive/administrative employees, 20% of department chairs and 33% of center directors are either women or from an under-represented minority.

 

So, we have passed some important mile markers on our diversity journey. But we still have “promises to keep, and miles to go before we sleep”, before we reach diversity: the condition or result of being changed.

 

Fortunately, we have more than a word map to guide us. MCG has a diversity policy, a plan and a purpose. And at the MCG School of Medicine, we will “Change, Innovate, and Educate” to achieve that end.

 

Sincerely,
D. Douglas Miller, M.D., C.M.
Dean, MCG School of Medicine

 

We are proud to support the AAMC Aspiring Docs Campaign to Increase Diversity in Medicine: